Electronic devices communicate with each other in a variety of ways, often based upon the requirements of a given context. One such context is that of control systems. Unlike simple communication systems where the system merely allows for communication among the devices communicating on the system, control systems communicate for the purpose of explicit control over the modules connected to communicate over the control system. Such systems then allow other applications to run on the various modules. Those applications in a distributed embedded control system, however, should work in concert.
To provide that group control, most distributed embedded control systems are built around a communication protocol standard, examples of which include CAN (ISO 11898), SERCOS, FlexRay, EtherCAT, and sometimes even Ethernet among others. Higher layer protocols are embedded on top of the communication standard to provide rules for data exchange among participating applications at Electronic Control Units participating in the control network, timing rules, sequence rules, and the like to facilitate communications between the distributed applications that are exchanging information. CANopen, DeviceNet, SDS, J1939, and NMEA 2000 are just a few examples of protocols that are layered on top of the CAN standard. Even meta protocols like CanKingdom are used, by which higher layer protocols can be constructed and optimized for specific distributed embedded control systems. A still further extension of CAN systems includes the CAN-FD protocol. Although the CAN-FD protocol's speed is increased over previous CAN-based systems, the maximum message length is still limited to 64 bytes. Such a system lacks in flexibility for system designers.
Additional background regarding certain prior teachings regarding such messaging protocols can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,711,880 titled Schematizing Of Messages In Distributed Control And Supervision, U.S. Pat. No. 7,472,216 titled Variable Oscillator For Generating Different Frequencies In A Controller Area Network (CAN), U.S. Pat. No. 7,899,936 titled Device In A Modularized System For Effecting Time-Stamping Of Events/Reference Events, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,478,234 titled Distributed Control And Monitoring System, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.
Another problem is that of message authentication in the case of a third party hacking into a communication network. Currently, most defenses to this type of attack rely on traditional encryption technology. This technology, however, requires distribution of keys that have to be kept secret and its implementation requires extra bandwidth, which exacerbates the ongoing bandwidth concerns for CAN-based protocols.